Okonjo-Iweala is 1st woman, African to lead world trade body
FRANKFURT, Germany—Nigerian economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was appointed to head the World Trade Organization, becoming the first woman and first African to take on the role amid rising protectionism and disagreement over how the body decides cases involving billions in sales and thousands of jobs. Ms. Okonjo-Iweala, 66, was named director-general by representatives of the 164 countries that make up the...
Building bridges in Ethiopia through Pan Africanism
On the 13th of January 2021, Addis Ababa University and the United States Africa Institute signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate on tasks related to education, research and overall development at the Addis Ababa University Main Campus located in Ethiopia’s capital city. The Los Angeles-based institute, according to its Facebook page, focuses on “Advancing the strategic partnerships between the...
New head of African Union faces daunting challenges from day one
(GIN)—He’s been described as a “master strategist,” but can the incoming chair of the African Union beat the daunting challenges ahead? That is the difficult question facing Felix-Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, president of the Democratic Republic (DRC) as he assumes the post just relinquished by South African leader Cyril Ramaphosa. Skeptics are already circling President Tshisekedi who has ambitious goals for the...
The power of a name and Ali’s trip to Africa
After Cassius Clay, who soon after was renamed by Nation of Islam patriarch Elijah Muhammad as Muhammad Ali, defeated world heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston in 1964, the new world champion embarked on a U.S. tour before an extended tour of Africa. While in Boston the Muslim champion told the Nation of Islam’s legendary Muhammad Speaks newspaper about his upcoming...
When the Strong Man Goes; Remembering Jerry Rawlings
When a strong man goes, there must be an assessment of his life and work, and for Jerry John Rawlings, we must be grateful. His love for the people of Ghana, his work for the African continent, and being a brother and friend of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam was proven. Going back to 1986, President...
Biden’s African policy must embrace proposed African Economic Community Free Trade Area
The quest for African solidarity as is suggested by the formation of the African Economic Community Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) goes back to African leaders like Kwame Nkrumah and his desire for continent-wide economic decolonization. “The hasty launch of AfCFTA without addressing critical challenges will not fulfill the intended objectives of structural transformation of African economies,” a recent editorial in...
Dr. King civil rights leader or Pan Africanist?
Every year we in the United States celebrate the life and legacy of civil rights icon Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The celebrations frequently focus on Dr. King’s dream of ending discrimination in America. But those tributes rarely if ever mention Dr. King’s global, Pan African interests, which included attending the post-colonial inauguration in 1957 of Ghana’s newly...
Fifty years on the Nile dam that changed the face of Egypt
MANILA SULTAN, Egypt—Yassin Saeed remembers when the Nile’s annual flood drenched his village in the years before the construction of the Aswan High Dam. Now, former flood lands are green fields year-round. “Our lives were very hard,” said the 76-year-old Egyptian, recounting how his father, his brothers and other farmers had to use the traditional felucca sailboats to harvest the...
‘Who’s a sh-thole now?’ Africa responds to Trump and violent American insurrec-tion at U.S. Capitol
Africa has faced the problem of political leaders being unwilling to step down and concede elections and suffered from President Trump’s racist tirades against the continent. So there was strong reaction to his unwillingness to accept losing the 2020 election to Joe Biden. It was reflected in headlines like “Africa to Trump: Who’s a sh**thole now?” Many Africans were “unable to...
Guterres ‘shocked’ at massacre of civilians in eastern DR Congo
The United Nations Secretary-General has expressed shock at the massacre of civilians in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and called on the authorities to bring the perpetrators to justice. At least 25 villagers are reported to have been killed in recent attacks attributed to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) militia in the villages of Tingwe, Mwenda and Nzenga,...